evergreen
by decrescence
Summary: — they are made of green and always growing. sasusaku. [seven heavenly virtues challenge]
1. chastity

**prompt: **_chastity_ – 1/7 of the seven heavenly virtues challenge on lj!

**summary:** she is a strange combination of crystal, flower petals, and precious metal.

**a/n: **gift-fic for l-hauteclaire on tumblr!

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When she finally fills the hollow, empty silence of the hospital room, her words are brusque and steady, laced with steel and bound with ivory: "I hate you.

"Uchiha Sasuke, I _hate _you."

Pale hands ghosting over a combination of battle wounds and faded, moonglow scars, Sakura enunciates each syllable as if she absolutely _loathes_ him to the deathbed and back—and perhaps she does. But the seaglass of her eyes are shining with something else, something subtle, but something there that betrays her when uttering those words should be a simple enough feat, and Sasuke wants to believe that the light is a reason for him to have hope. Fire flickers behind her green irises, although it is a duo of gentle candlewick flames and not a raging inferno; because despite all she holds herself to be, Haruno Sakura is—he _knows _she is—soft and kind.

After all the endless years of war, and ash, and blood, Sasuke still sees a little girl in her eyes, budding, young, and high-spirited. He sees her as the little girl from his childhood, with the petal hair and wide forehead, but slowly, it dons on him that she is not what she used to be, and the concept slowly sinks to the pit of his stomach like deadweight. She is different; she has grown. Her fingers have intertwined with the hilts of blades that have killed and fists thrown punches that have knocked wind, skies, and galaxies from lungs, but to Sasuke she will always be pure and chaste, no matter how many scars have paled into her skin.

It is as if she is just a memory, frail and gossamer in his hands. Sakura is a memory he will not let go, cannot let go because—it is simple—he is afraid to. She is his past and everything he left behind, but she is still the same person, he realizes. She can be his future if they make amends.

But is it too late for such endeavors?

The grave look on her face almost reflects how Sasuke feels: lips pressed into a hard, thin line, expression taut like bowstring. Her features seem strangely dark and heavy, woven together in a way that is completely unlike the ones she wore during their old Genin days. She was always happy and laughing back then, Sasuke reminisces, wincing, because regardless of all the physical pain he has been through, it is painful for him to remember.

A million and one thoughts flood into his mind, like a school of fish swimming through his bloodstream, and he wants nothing more than to fall into a deep, dreamless slumber, but he cannot seem to pull his gaze from her downcast mouth, wrinkled nose, and arched brows. Her expression, he thinks to himself, does not fit her, and silently, he wishes she would smile like she used to.

He then notices her lips move—just barely—perhaps even before she, herself, is aware and sees her mouth, _"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," _over and over again, like a mantra. She whispers the words as if she is trying to convince herself of their truth, and Sasuke secretly hopes she does not have faith in them already.

Despite everything he knows about Sakura, he is afraid. Even though she is forgiving and innocent and kind, and she cannot possibly hate him as much as she says, he is frightened she does not love him as she once did. He does not know when, or why, or how his own feelings came to this, but the realization, somehow, does not bother him. He wants her to love him. He needs her to.

Throughout their time spent in recurring silence of the hospital room, Sakura's hands remain gingerly settled atop his numerous injuries, and she continues to heal him, a halo of green chakra emanating from her open palms against his torso. She binds his wounds, accepts his scars, and brushes away the tear tracks trailing beneath his skin. She is there for him when no one else stands at his side, surely, Sasuke thinks, surely _because_ she loves him—

"But I hate you," she says suddenly, and he cannot find it in himself to give a reply.

Instead, he sits up in the bed, which creaks softly, sighing beneath his weight, and meets her eyes with obsidian and night. He does not want to falter, but he does; he has not looked at her, _really _and truly looked at her in ages and eons, and he has forgotten how breathtaking she is. Although he is weak because of injury and the look in her eyes, he cups her face with trembling, calloused hands. He is not at all gentle; he has never been gentle, but she has, is, and will be.

"You don't," he whispers, and it takes her a moment to realize that he is pleading with her. "You don't hate me."

She stills in his almost rough hold, her eyes clear and evergreen, not at all clouded like he had thought they would be. She waits, as she has been all this time, and her response eventually comes, "I do, Sasuke; I do."

She does not apologize after she says it, and Sasuke's heart shatters in his chest, his grip growing weaker by the second. He just barely manages to breathe a raspy, "Please, Sakura. Please."

"But," Sakura murmurs, and her hands deliberately find their way to his wrists. A faint smile streaks her lips, and his time, her words are clearer—sure, steady, and everything she is, "I still love you more."

And that is when Sasuke learns and accepts that she has grown, blossomed into a garden flower and no longer the little bud she once was. Sakura is not the young girl from his memories, for that side of her is gone, lost somewhere along a winding ribbon of a road, but still, she is _Sakura_—the Sakura that hates him but loves him, and that is all he needs.

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**a/n: **please, do review! ^^


	2. temperance

**prompt: **_temperance _- 2/7 of the seven heavenly virtues challenge on lj!

**summary:** in which he misses the not-distance between their hearts.

**a/n: **i spent this weekend revamping my livejournal theme, so if any of you guys want to check it out or friend me there, that'd be great! i'll be periodically posting updates and teasers to my fics on livejournal to keep you guys in tune c: i also made a twitter a couple days ago, and the links to both are on my profile if you're interested in following!

* * *

A week after his admittance into Konoha's main hospital, Sasuke pushes open its front doors and steps outside, into the village for the first time in what feels like several eternities. His footfalls are quiet and carefully placed against the ground as they lead him out of the sterile, white-walled hallway and past the hospital's entrance, and pausing a few paces from the closing doors behind him, he shifts tired eyes to the blue sky overhead.

It is ironic, he thinks, to have such warm, clear weather during the aftermath of what may have been one of the world's bloodiest wars, but he shrugs it off and stretches his arms, dusting away the cobwebs underneath his skin. His heavy lids close as he reaches upward, his vision gradually fading to black, but upon his opening of them again, just moments later, he glimpses a flash of pink at his shoulder and sees his petal-haired, former teammate approaching.

Her name leaves his mouth and falls like rain. "Sakura?"

The medic nods in response, lips lifted ever so slightly. She does not answer at once, though, and only studies his features with a calculating gaze as she nears his side. Sasuke cannot help but notice the ample distance she leaves between them when her footsteps stop at the perimeter of the shadow he casts over the sidewalk, although distance from her is something he would have welcomed years ago. But today the case is different, and it does nothing less than trouble him.

"I'll walk you home," she says, and Sasuke is pulled from his brief reverie. Her eyes move to his tightly bandaged abdomen. "You're still a bit unstable."

"You don't need to," he answers after a beat, waving her offer aside. "Uchihas heal quickly."

"Uchihas heal quickly," Sakura echoes with a huff, sidestepping him and moving onto the main road. "Looks like you're still as arrogant as ever, Sasuke."

Sasuke exhales, watching her form slowly dwindle away from his place. "And it looks like you're still as annoying as ever," he counters, but the smirk easing across his features is evident in his voice. His long strides carry him toward Sakura within moments, and he falls into step beside her.

For a while, they walk together in wordless silence, side by side, but as their distance from the hospital grows, so does the distance between them. Quietly, Sasuke watches out of the corner of his eye as Sakura falls back, slowly pulling away from him with each step they take. The span between their hands gradually doubles, triples in measure, and when Sasuke can no longer hear her steps trailing behind him, he pauses at the edge of the road and turns on her.

He half-expects Sakura to be gone, but she isn't. She is just over an arm's length away, making little steps toward him, but she, too, comes to a stop upon noticing Sasuke's dark stare locked on her. "I thought you were walking me home," he says, and to his own surprise, his tone is marked with a tinge of something he does not recognize.

"I am," Sakura replies, and she catches up, returning to his side. "It's just that you don't usually like being close to people, and with everything that's happened—"

"There's an exception to everything," Sasuke cuts in, quietly.

"So, I'm your exception?"

"Something like that."

Sasuke finds himself at ease when Sakura laughs, and he watches intently as her head bobs backward the slightest bit and her right hand flittingly lifts to cover her mouth. As he notices how her eyes crinkle at the edges, his heart pangs—he has not heard her laugh in quite a while, he realizes. He has missed it.

When Sakura catches him staring and lifts a brow, Sasuke quickly shifts his gaze away, slender hand rising to rub at the nape of his neck. He shrugs and motions for them to continue walking, and they do.

"I missed you, you know," Sakura says, minutes later, and her voice is far away. Heaving her chest, she lets out a sigh that sounds hollowed-out and gently dips her head. "I'm still angry, but I missed you."

A flurry of potential responses flood into Sasuke's mind: "I'm sorry," "Forgive me," "I missed you, too," but all go unspoken, and all he can manage is, "Why?"

She is silent for a moment, but when Sasuke turns to look at her, he sees galaxies shining in her eyes. She takes a breath before replying, "It's lonely without you."

He does not think, does not consider, and murmurs, "I was lonely, too," and realizes that it may have been the most honest thing he has ever told her. He wordlessly glances at the still-distance between them, the off, out of sync rhythms of their footsteps, and wonders: could they still fall back into place?

The answer is lost to him, and Sasuke searches Sakura's eyes for an answer, but before he can find one, he glimpses a hazy image of what used to be his home—the Uchiha compound—as a reflection through her eden irises. Reluctantly, he turns to face the sole dwelling that, in the past, had never failed to bring him comfort, and upon his probing sweep of the abandoned area's remnants, his blood cools to ice.

With deliberate movements seemingly belonging to that of someone else, Sasuke paces toward the now-rusting welcome gate adorned with his clan's signature uchiwa fan hung across the horizontal bars. He traces the outline of the fan—his emblem, his lineage—with trembling hands, fingers grazing a distant recollection of muted, ruby red and dusty white.

Trying to ignore his heavy heart, he swallows the memories of his past and his beginning and retracts his hands, letting them drop to his sides. Slowly, he angles himself back to Sakura again, and when he looks to her, she is standing at the outskirt of his shadow, watching.

"I guess I'll be leaving you now," she says, but it flows more like a question. She studies him for a little while longer, "Are you alright?"

Reaching to open the latch of the welcome gate, Sasuke gives a low sigh in response. "No," resonates in his mind, but for some reason, he cannot bring himself to be honest with Sakura this time around. Instead, he glances at her and murmurs the only word he finds comfort in: "Sakura."

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Can you stay a while?"

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**a/n:** as always, feel free to review! your reviews really encourage me to keep going~


	3. charity

**prompt:** _charity_ – 3/7 of the seven heavenly virtues challenge on lj!

**summary:** he ponders the light she has shined upon him throughout the years.

**a/n: **i'm on a roll, haha, i've _actually _been able to update this fic every week for once! i'll try my best to update every sunday, but do forgive me if i miss one ;~;

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The dimness of what used to be Sasuke's old home is illuminated by Sakura's presence when she steps through the doorframe. They enter the compound together, and Sasuke casts a quick whisper-glance over his shoulder as she follows behind him, thinking silently to himself that he has never imagined that a time would come where she, Sakura, would come into his home. It is a strange feeling, he muses, a strange but not unwelcome feeling.

They walk forward soundlessly, leaving the silence empty, save for the muted echoes of their footsteps against chestnut-wood, and the quiet leaves space for Sasuke to notice that the cleanliness of the compound is not like that of one that has been abandoned for years and years. As his dark gaze travels the full length of the hallway, he notes that the surfaces of the tables standing close to the cream-hued walls are not nearly as dusty as he had been expecting them to be, and in fact, they almost look as if they had been cleaned that very morning. Stepping deeper into the complex, he lets his eyes trace the various picture frames and trinkets scattered across the said tables. All are spotless and perfectly arranged as well.

When he enters his family's old sitting room, he sees that the curtains are not closed like he had thought they would be; they are wide open, easily letting skylight from the backyard spill through the slightly musty glass windowpanes. There is even a vase of sea-blue flowers centered upon the small coffee table beside his favorite futon couch, and, he realizes, it is a vase of _fresh _flowers. Someone had recently placed it there.

Sasuke swiftly turns on his heels and calls for Sakura. "Has anyone been coming in here recently?" he asks, still surveying the area through his peripheral vision. "Have you noticed anyone?" Sakura returns next to him within a breath, pink lips smiling gently. Quietly, she lets out a small laugh, a hand flitting to cover her mouth.

Raising his eyebrows, Sasuke nods toward the vase before gesturing to the rest of the house. "Someone's been here," he says. "I'm sure of it."

"It was me," Sakura laughs, her bright eyes reflecting the sun shards piercing through the window-glass. "I've come here quite often since you left, every couple weeks or so, just to clean up and keep the place tidy and comfortable, so it'd be nice when you came back."

Sasuke stills at her words the moment they leave her mouth, surprised by the whole content of her generosity. But he should not have been surprised, he thinks, as memories of everything kind and compassionate she has ever done for him flash through his mind; she has _always_ been like this. Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he mutters, "Oh," and his voice sounds carved out. "You didn't have to."

"I didn't," Sakura says in agreement, and as she meets her line of focus to Sasuke's, the light in her eyes seems to have dulled, "but I did anyway." She waits a beat before sighing out, "For you, Sasuke. You should be grateful."

The realization sets itself upon Sasuke's shoulders then, the realization that Sakura did not have to do what she did. She did not have to wait for him. She was not _obligated_ to wait for him, but she did, and she waited faithfully for the entirety of those dark, endless years. "I am," Sasuke says quickly, hoping the insistence in his voice is evident enough for her to hear and the painful pang of his heartbeat is not. "I am grateful."

He finds himself moving to her, slowly, carefully closing their distance before he has time to think it through. As he nears her, Sakura's eyes regain their light once again, and for a moment, Sasuke swears that there are a million constellations of stars shining in her irises, but he has never been one for flowery wordplay or poetry and pulls her form to his body without a second thought. The flush of her skin is warm against his own as he cages her in his arms.

Although he is tense and awkward, he feels oddly comfortable with her head buried in his chest, with her heart beating so close to his. Sakura is not obligated to fill his bones with her light, but she does, her hands slowly but surely linking behind his back. It takes Sasuke a second to realize he has forgotten to breathe, but when he does, he dips his head and takes in her scent of springtime, secret gardens, and morning dew and wonders how he survived without it for all those years.

It seems that Sakura, too, has forgotten to let her lungs fill with air because when she finally speaks once more, her voice has gone weak and sounds out of breath, "I didn't know if you were going to come back at all." She is so quiet that Sasuke has to pull her closer to hear when she murmurs, "I was scared."

Even though never in his life has he ever been gentle, he tries for her, pulling himself from her hold and grasping her face in his hands, just like he had that day in the hospital, but much more softly than he had then. He reads the love written in her eyes, and although it would have comforted him a while ago, it causes a nuance of guilt to pull him now.

Again, he is afraid—because he knows who she is; he knows she is Sakura, who hates him but loves him with everything she has, and he knows she will give and _give _to him until she is empty and bare. He is afraid because she will love him until there is nothing left of her but bones and echoes and stardust, and he cannot let himself be the one to let her hollow out in his hands.

He has to admit: as lovely as she is, Haruno Sakura is a frightening girl.

After sighing into her blossom hair, he hears her whisper a soft and wispy, "Thank you for coming back, Sasuke."

He is silent for a while, but then he caves into her and breathes, "Thank you for waiting."

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**a/n: **don't forget to leave a review~ a biiig thank you goes out to everyone who has been so kind and already left one!

also, feel free to check out my tumblr and new twitter c: the link to my twitter was incorrect before, but i've fixed it - both links are on my profile~


	4. diligence

**prompt:**_ diligence_ - 4/7 of the seven heavenly virtues challenge on lj!

**summary:** the steadiness of her presence melts the ice in his bones.

**a/n: **i jinxed it in the last chapter when i mentioned actually updating weekly, didn't i? haha, i have exams and a fever, but something about the combination made me want to write, so here we are with the next chapter! school's _almost _over for me, and i promise i'll try to update more frequently if i survive finals ;w;

anyway, are you guys excited for sasusaku month coming up soon? i've looked over the prompts, and i'm super excited to start working on them. this year, i'm planning to start ahead of time, and i'm hoping that i'll be able to complete all of them. still not sure if i'm going to post them here, though, but they'll definitely go on tumblr.

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More often than not, Sasuke wakes with a flash of nightmares behind his eyes and ghosts of the past whispering at his back, and today is no exception. He bolts up in bed, cold sweat beading his forehead, and thin fingers clench at the white bedsheets underneath him as he tries to steady his ragged, panicked breathing. Shivers running though his body, his black eyes outline the room, and a quick glance outside tells him that it is early morning.

The soft daylight welcomes itself through the dirtied glass of his clouded windows, but it does little to comfort him. Heaving a deep sigh, Sasuke swings his legs over his bedside, forcing himself to his feet. Slowly, he runs a hand through messy hair before letting darkness flood his vision.

When he stands still, he starts to hear it. What _it _is, he does not know, but as he waits with the heaviness of his bones weighing him down, he realizes. The faint whispers at the back of his mind are not whispers at all but echoes of screams, and shrieks, and sobs. Screams of his father, the one he thought he would never see break down; shrieks of his mother, the strongest woman he has ever known; sobs of his brother, Itachi, whose last words he still cannot let go. Sasuke cannot tell why they are screaming, if they are screaming for him or at him, but with every fiber of his being he wishes he knew, even if the reason would be one to break him.

He opens his eyes again, and for a fleeting moment he swears his family is standing in front of him, but as he makes deliberate steps toward them, their very presences begin to fade away, until nothing of them remains. He sees his brother's lips move—just barely—before he disappears, but he cannot quite perceive what they spell out, and it almost kills him that he will never know.

Without warning, Sasuke's knees give way beneath him, and he falls to the floor. He barely notices, though; any pain from colliding with the ground unknown to him. After a moment, he pulls his trembling hands from his face, and they come back wet with tears.

* * *

It is hours later when Sasuke finds himself outside, wandering in the early daylight. Slow steps leading him away from the compound, he makes his way to the main street and walks forward, still a bit dazed and still a bit broken. He moves without thinking, reaching a fork in the road, and an internal compass lulls him to the left.

Footfalls are languidly placed on the dirt path that loops to the perimeter of a forest, which he enters without much notice, the sun ribbons overhead vaporizing as tall, arched trees move in to block the light. Sasuke takes a breath, inhaling slowly, and falls deeper into the greenery shrouded by shadows cast in the absence of light. Although it is not cold, he shivers, running his hands over his arms, and for the first time in a while, he wishes he had someone to keep him company.

At the thought, he breaks into a brisk run, despite being at the heart of the forest, and lets his legs propel him forward until the trees gradually thin and he escapes the forest's pull. The sounds of children's happy laughter and a gentle chastising tone reach his ears at the edge, and he looks to the distance.

Sakura stands amidst a group of young, grinning children, playing and chasing one another under her cautious watch. He watches as she easily lifts one of the boys onto her shoulders and runs about, making him laugh and clap his small hands together. Despite himself, a faint smile crosses Sasuke's features.

Quietly, he pushes the low tree branches aside, stepping away from the darkness and toward Sakura and the children. Sakura takes notice of his presence first and turns in surprise to his approaching form, and the child on her shoulders, somehow unafraid, waves animatedly.

Sasuke finds himself lifting a hand to greet the boy, a gesture that makes Sakura smile. Some of the other children shy away as he nears them, but the boy remains grinning, and Sasuke hears him say to Sakura, "Neechan, who's that guy? He looks cool!"

Sakura carefully sets the kid on the ground, smiling down at him before moving to Sasuke and pulling him by the wrist. "Sasuke's my teammate, Tooru," she says, Sasuke now at her side. "He's a very powerful shinobi."

Tooru's mouth opens in childish astonishment, his face brightening. After a moment, he nods solemnly at Sasuke and then takes off in the direction of Shizune, who is standing some ways off to the side, while yelling about wanting to become a shinobi one day, too.

"They're orphans," Sakura says softly, when the young boy is out of earshot. She turns to Sasuke, the look in her eyes a bit blue. "Their parents were all killed in the war."

Sasuke remains quiet, and Sakura speaks again, to fill the silence, "I like to meet with them when I have time because they deserve that much, at least."

The gravity of her words warms him to the bone, and he feels another nuance of a smile pulling at his lips. "Aa," is all he says, unable to fathom stars into constellations, but Sakura seems to understand, her bright eyes twinkling. "It must be hard work," he murmurs after a beat, and she laughs.

"What about you, though?" she asks, and when he says nothing, she regards him with soft eyes. "Why're you up so early, hm, Sasuke?"

He shrugs. "I couldn't sleep."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she says, gently. He shakes his head, and she nods in understanding, silent as she edges toward him just enough for their arms to touch. Surprisingly, although she says nothing, her presence steadies him and calms the fire inside.

When he glances to her, the look in her eyes is so caring it nearly makes his heart shatter, and Sasuke realizes why the children must adore her so much. Being one who believes that giving up on someone is never an option, Sakura's veins run with kindness and love, and it is no wonder, Sasuke thinks, that the kids thrive in her presence. To them, she must represent hope.

And to him, she is nothing short of it, either.

The sound of another person nearing the vicinity pulls Sasuke from his thoughts, and he glances up to see a certain blonde-haired figure rapidly approaching their place. Inwardly sighing, Sasuke watches as Naruto runs toward them, yelling, "Oi, oi, oi!" at the top of his lungs.

After pausing briefly to grin at the children, Naruto stops in front of Sasuke and Sakura, wide smile and all. "Sakura-chan, teme!" he exclaims, ever excited. "Tsunade-baachan is calling for you two!"

With the last words and a quick flash of a peace sign where an explanation should be, Naruto turns to jog away before even awaiting an answer. Shrugging, Sakura waves a goodbye to Shizune and the kids before following Naruto with Sasuke in tow.

They are a good thirty steps away when Sasuke turns to Sakura. "Did you mean it when you said I'm a powerful shinobi?" he asks, slight amusement in his voice.

A laugh escapes Sakura's lips. "You wish," she replies, nudging him the ribs with her elbow before walking ahead and leaving him behind her, scowling.

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**a/n: **reviews would be loved c:

(finally) fixed links to my tumblr and twitter are on my profile if you'd like to drop by!


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